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  • From: Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] was Random thoughts about the day, now tote sleds
  • Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:39:33 -0700


On Jan 12, 2009, at 1:17 PM, Clansgian AT wmconnect.com wrote:



Not Lynn, but I too use a tote sled for just about anything in the
winter---

There's a type of sled used around here and is a traditional piece of
Appalachian farm equipment. It's called a "stone boat" because it is sturdy enough to haul a load of stones out of the fields as they were unearthed by the plow. But is is also used for wood, hay, and everything else.

The runners are made of locust logs and if done properly it can be dragged
over a pasture or hayfield and hardly leave a mark. It's intended to be horse drawn, of course.

I have a people-drawn version, simply two two-by-four runners topped with a piece of plywood and a bit of edging. All four bottom corners are angle-cut and the rope pull is fastened at each end with enough slack going under the belly so it can be pulled or steered both ways. I made it one winter about fifteen years ago when our steep driveway was snow over ice. The neighbors did my shopping while I crunched my way up through the woods. I met them at the top, put my supplies on it and steered it down the ice slide, often from a prone position. I used it last summer behind Chris's chariot to bring down large stones from alongside the driveway.

We Wisconsin boys know about stone boats. One of my first big-money jobs was picking stones for a neighbor. Five bucks a day.





Gene GeRue
www.RURALIZE.com








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